Watch: Of Monster and Men - "Little Talks"

A couple days ago, Iceland's up and coming folk pop sextet Of Monsters and Men released their debut video for "Little Talks". The video follows the band's males on a journey whose purpose isn't ever quite explained. Somewhere along the way they meet up with a superpower goddess like creature (played by the band's sole female - Nanna).\ who escorts them for the rest of the trip, fending off all sorts of terrifyingly gigantic creatures and rescue them from certain danger. The whole thing plays like a video game with a cheat activated and yet it's beautifully enough to forgive that.

Watch the video for Of Monster and Men's "Little Talks":



Of Monsters and Men's My Head is An Animal is out April 3rd.

(via Listen Before You Buy)

Pitstop: Of Monsters and Men

Iceland is home to many talented musicians: Sigur Rós (and Jónsi by proxy), Björk, and cousins Ólöf and Ólafur Arnalds to name a few. Well now, a new Icelandic band Of Monsters and Men seems poised to take up the mantle of delightful Nordic exports.

Though known mostly outside Iceland for their song "Little Talks", Winners of the 2010 nationwide battle of the bands competition Músiktilraunir and playing all sorts of festivals and gigs all over Iceland, the sextet prove that they're no one hit wonders. And with their debut full length set for release this September, the world will get to share in their distinct brand of folk pop. The second I heard the accordion, I knew I was hooked- and then I fell victim to Of Monsters and Men's rousing clustered choruses and deep-cutting emotionally evocative lyrics.


Get a taste of Iceland's latest up-and-comers Of Monsters and Men with a live video of "Little Talks" for KEXP filmed in Iceland:

Jonsi - Go (2010)

I had missed the big Sigur Ros phase seeming all of my friends went through a couple years ago and so I was totally content to ignore Icelandic singer/songwriter Jonsi's debut album Go that was released early last month despite the increasing number of magazine features, interviews, and reviews. All of that changed last week when I saw Jonsi perform the album's lead track "Go Do" on the Late Late Show with Craig Ferguson. Energetic and upbeat yet calm and tranquil at the same time, it's no surprise that I was almost immediately motivated to give the album a listen. Jonsi's intriguinglly colorful bird-inspired dress certainly didn't hinder my curiousity either (that and I'm a sucker for finely played ukelele). Go did not disappoint with downright rapturous arrangements by composer Nico Muhly that no doubt aid Jonsi's attention catching falsetto, and you certainly don't have to know anything about the Icelandic language or culture to enjoy the stunningly well-crafted record. I should mention Jonsi sings predominantly in English on this album but there are moments where he smoothly shifts between the two languages. After second track "Animal Arithmetic" and it's lighting-fast hyperactive intensity, the rest of the album maintains a steady (though in no way lethargic) calm. A favorite moment of my mine of the album is an instrumental melody in "Boy Lilikoi" that sounds like a melodic line from Le Loup's "Planes Like Vultures" (the repetitive "Oh this world was made for ending" line). Whether that was intentional or not remains to be seen but it's always nice when music syncs up like that. I heard in an interview that Jonsi had been working on several songs on the album for about 10 years, and while impressive I certainly hope it doesn't take that long before he delivers a follow-up album but if that's the price of such well-written music I think we can all wait.

Preview the album with video for lead/single track "Go Do":

Or you can stream the whole album at Jonsi's website:
http://www.jonsi.com/go#order